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Friday, 20 April 2012

E-Reader? Convince me!

I love my books.
I live in a house which has shelves in pretty much every room stacked everywhere.
I have a full library of my own in my classroom purely because I do not have the room at home (No idea what I'm going to do if I ever move jobs).

This leaves me with a problem

What do I do when the shelf space actually runs out??

I am close to this dark day. Without doing radical like moving, getting rid of my bed / fridge/ bathroom I reckon I have space for one more bookcase then I'm done.

One solution that seems obvious to the outside observer is for me to purchase an e-reader of some kind. I'm really hesitant to do this because I love having books everywhere and am reluctant to spend money on something ebooks when often a real print copy of the same book is the same price. I know this line of argument is flawed because I download songs for my ipod and think nothing of it but I can't get my head around not having a pile of books to pick up and flick through and hold right in front of me.

There's only one thing that has started to chance my mind. It's a beast named Netgalley whose very existence threatens to do dangerous things to my TBR pile. It is luring me in with its offerings of gorgeous titles and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it at bay.

8 comments:

I own a lot of books, and two ereaders. I have a Kindle 2 and a Nook Color, although the Hubs uses the Nook most days now. For serious readers, I would just get a plain Kindle or Nook- not the Color or Fire, because then the screen is like looking at a computer. My Kindle goes with me everywhere, so if I find myself stuck in line somewhere, I simply get it out of my purse and start reading. The ones with color screens are could for playing games though... And I still buy and read tons of "real" books still, only now I have the option of downloading the ebooks instead, and it's great for netgalley!

I own over 1000 print books (not including all my sheet music) and I also have a Kobo e-reader. Like you, I was uncertain at first as I love my print copies so much, but I have had my e-reader just over a year now and I have to say, I'm impressed.I don't buy e-books very often. Nearly all the ones I read are review copies either from authors or via NetGalley. Having the e-reader has allowed me to read some great books I might not have picked up off the shelf.Of course, I still read print books too. I choose print when it's a favourite author (one I know I'll want to keep) and I use e-books as a way to try new types of books and new authors. Some I've read on NetGalley, I liked so much I want to get them in print now.So, I reckon you should go for it and give e-books a try. It doesn't mean you give up print, but it does mean you get the best of both worlds. I tend to read print and e-books about 50/50 now.

Getting an e-reader hasn't really changed my physical book buying habit ;) But it does come in very handy for the NetGalley copies and for those books that are for some reason unavailable as phyiscal copies in Holland and well, some books are just so HUGE it's more comfortable to just have them on my e-reader. Also, when traveling it's about 5 kg less I need to carry around ;)I have a Sony Reader Pocket Edition and I absolutely love it! It's very easy to use and I love that I have a cover with a little light so now I can read in bed without disturbing my boyfriend's sleep and read in the car at night :) I know you have those click-on light for regular books as well, but I don't want to damage them with that...

I've had a Kindle since Christmas, and, yes, the convenience is a massive plus. But I think the main benefit for me is getting instant access to books I wouldn't usually pick up. Having said that I'm not sure I would get a Kindle again(the whole Amazon being a tad unethical debate etc)but I haven't really looked into any other readers, so not sure how they compare.I LOVE the fact that you have your own personal library at work. Kudos :)

I love my books too but I do have an ereader for my books from netgalley or requests off authors or for tours.

I only have an Elonex 700EB eBook Reader as it was all I could afford at the time, less than £50 including delivery.

I have had no problems with it, it has a back light so I can read in bed and also takes epub or pdf, which is better for netgalley & requests. It also has a slot for a memory card so I don't have to connect it to the computer to transfer the books over but uses adobe digital editions for transfer without card.

I never really wanted an ereader - had never really considered getting one, but then for my birthday my friends gave my a kindle Keyboard. So I started playing with it and downloading a few free books - and I loved it! The reading senstation was the same as a paper book - and I actually find pressing a button much less distruptive to the reading experience than turning a page. And it does help with long journeys - I no longer have to take 2 or more books with me! But I do still buy paper books - there is something nice about holding paper in your hands. I think I have the best of both worlds! :)